tllBRARY OF CONGRESS.! 

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COLLEGE REFORM. 



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COLLEGE REEORM. 



BY 

FRANCIS H.^MITH, A.M. 

^ SUPERINTENDENT AND PROFESSOR OF MATUEMATICS OF THE VIRGINIA MILITARY 

^^X^ INSTITDTE; LATE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS IN HAMPDEN SIDNEY 

^ college; and FORMERLY an ASSISTANT PROFESSOR in 

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, 
WEST POINT. 



.o^ 



r< 






PHILADELPHIA: 
THOMAS, COWPERTHWAIT & CO. 




l-i 



5" 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, 

BY THOMAS, COWPERTHWAIT AND CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania. 



C. SHERMAN, PRINTER. 



PREFACE. 



The Virginia Military Institute was established 
by the State of Virginia in 1839. It was the first 
attempt to introduce a complete military organiza- 
tion into a State College. The success which has 
attended the experiment has directed public atten- 
tion to the system of discipline and instruction here 
introduced, with a view to a reform of the college 
system, as it has existed in some of the oldest 
institutions of our country. 

It has been impossible for the undersigned, amid 
engrossing public duties, to do justice in a single 
letter to his views on this important subject. His 
replies to the many inquiries which have been ad- 
dressed to him have necessarily been imperfect. 



X PREFACE. 

because wanting the details which are essential to 
a thorough understanding of his views, and to a 
successful application of the system which he has 
recommended. It is due alike to the Institution to 
which he is attached, as to those who are interested 
in the cause of education, that the subject should 
be presented in such a form as to be available to 
the public. For this purpose the following pages 
on College Reform have been prepared. 

Francis H. Smith. 

Virginia Military Institute, 
March, 1851. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Present System of Collegiate Education in the page 

United States, - - - - - 14 

II. Defects op the Present System of Collegiate 

Education, with the Reforms Suggested, - 18 

1. VisATORiAL Authority, - - - - 18 

2. Faculty, - - - - - 19 

3. Course op Study, - - - - 20 

4. Mode of Instruction, - - - - 27 

5. Discipline, - - - - - 35 

III. Religious Education, - - - - 51 

IV. Military Institutions, - - - 53 



COLLEGE REFORM. 



It may be considered a favourable omen for the 
cause of sound learning, tliat public attention is 
now so universally directed to the subject of Edu- 
cational Reform. Whatever be the cause which 
induces this inquiry, whether from the conviction 
that the existing systems of education are radically 
defective, or from the necessity of accommodating 
them to the progressive spirit of the age, it can 
hardly fail to result in much good. 

It is proposed at this time to inquire into the 
present collegiate system of the United States, 
with the view to exhibit its defects, and to suggest 
such a reform as may adapt it to the necessities 
and demands of the present day. 



14 COLLEGE REFORM. 

I. 

WHAT IS THE PRESENT SYSTEM OE COLLEGIATE 
EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES? 

The colleges of the United States, except when 
connected with the state government, are under the 
control of a corporation, styled a Board of Trustees, 
or Visitors. This Board prescribes the laws for 
the government of the college, directs and disburses 
its funds, appoints professors, and confers degrees. 
For these important duties, it meets once or twice 
a year, and continues in session the whole or a 
part of one day. The members of the Board hold 
their offices during life, and all vacancies are filled 
by appointment from the Board itself. These va- 
cancies are for the most part filled from the sectarian 
or political bias of the individual, or from the sup- 
posed influence which a great name may exert on 
the popularity of the college. A seat in the Board 
being often regarded as an honorary and not a labo- 
rious office, the number of members is usually very 
large, varying, according to circumstances, from 
twelve to fifty. The trustees receive no compensa- 
tion for their services, and are responsible to no one. 



COLLEaE REFORM. 15 

The instruction and discipline of our colleges 
are confided to ^faculty, composed of a president, 
professors, and tutors ; who, with the exception of 
tutors, hold their ofiices during good behaviour, 
which is practically a life tenure. 

The president presides at the faculty meetings, 
is sometimes a member of the Board of Trustees, 
delivers diplomas, and is the organ of communica- 
tion with the college. In other respects the autho- 
rity of the president does not differ from that of a 
professor. He has charge of one or more classes 
for instruction. The hours of recitation, and the 
amount of instruction to be given by each profes- 
sor, are arranged among the professors themselves 
or by the usages of the college. The salary of a 
professor varies from eight hundred dollars to 
twelve hundred dollars, and is paid for the most 
part from the tuition fees. The permanent funds 
of the college sometimes meet a portion of the 
salary. 

TJie course of study for the degree of A. B. is 
distributed among four classes, the studies of each 
class occupying one year. These studies embrace 
Latin, Greek, mathematics, natural philosophy (in- 



16 COLLEGE REFORM. 

eluding mechanics, optics, and astronomj), chemis- 
try, physiology, geology, intellectual and moral 
philosophy, rhetoric, political economy, constitu- 
tional law, and the evidences of Christianity. Al- 
though every candidate for a bachelor's degree is 
required to go through the whole of the prescribed 
course, the extent to which instruction is carried in 
the classical and metaphysical studies, is much 
greater than in the mathematical and dependent 
branches. 

The mode of instruction is in part by recitation, 
in part by lectures ; but as attendance upon the 
class-room is not always imperative upon the stu- 
dent, the actual number of recitations of a student 
in any one subject is often less than one a week. 
Further, as the number of professors does not in- 
crease with the number of students, the larger the 
attendance at a college, as a general thing, the less 
thorough the character of the instruction. Exami- 
nations of the students take place at the end of 
each term, at which an occasional member of the 
Board may be seen. The professor himself always 
conducts the examination, and is the sole judge of 
the merit of the student. Deficiency in studies 



n 



COLLEGE REFORM. 17 

may subject a student to a second examination, or 
deprive him of his diploma ; but neglect of studies 
or want of capacity will not exclude him from the 
privileges of the college, provided he conform to 
college laws and pay the college fees. No classifi- 
cation is made of the student in order of merit, 
except to specify those who deserve the '' honors" 
of the class, and to such, special parts are assigned 
on commencement days. 

The discipline of the college consists in circular 
reports to parents or guardians, exhibiting the 
number of absences from appointed duties, and the 
general diligence of the student ; private and public 
reprimands; suspension; dismission; and expulsion. 
The class standing of a student is not at all affected 
by his moral deportment. He may be the most 
irregular and vicious student in college, and still 
receive the first honors of his class. On the other 
hand, a rigid conformity to college laws will not 
give a student any advantage over one of equal 
talents but of bad habits. The students lodge in 
the college buildings, and board in public boarding 
houses which are approved by the faculty, or in 
private families. 

2* 



18 COLLEaE REFORM. 

Such is a brief but correct outline of the college 
system of the United States.* Some may be 
found to differ materially from this outline, others 
partially. But with all the exceptions which here 
and there exist, the above may be considered the 
college system of the United States, the defects of 
which we desire to point out, and, if possible, re- 
form. 



II. 

DEFECTS OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF COLLEGIATE 
EDUCATION, AND REFORMS SUGGESTED. 

I. VISATOKIAL AUTHOPaiT. 

This, as we have seen, resides in a cumbrous, 
self -perpetuating , and irresponsible corporation. 
Could human ingenuity contrive a more inefficient 
body to control a college ? 

Reform. — Eeduce the Board of Trustees to a 
number not exceeding nine; abolish the life tenure, 
and let each trustee serve six years, one-third of 

* See Dr. Wayland's outline of the College System of the 
United States. 



COLLEGE REFORM. 19 

the Board going out by rotation every two years. 
There is some difficulty in saying who shall fill 
vacancies, but as the best plan that can be fallen 
upon, where the state is not the founder, let nomi- 
nations be made by the society of Alumni, and 
confirmed by the Board. Let a seat at the Board 
be vacated when inexcusable absences from its 
meetings occur. A report of the proceedings of 
each meeting should be published, and all reason- 
able expenses of the trustees in discharging their 
duties be paid. The president of the college should 
never be a trustee. One of the duties of the Board 
is to inquire into the manner in which the presi- 
dent and professors have discharged their duties.- 
He should not try his own case. 

II. FACULTY. 

The present arrangement for instruction needs 
but slight improvement. Whatever inefficiency 
exists in the faculty of a college, may be traced to 
the neglect of the Board of trustees in exercising a 
proper supervision. The reform above suggested 
is designed to remove this defect, and as a conse- 
quence the dependent one of an ignorant or imbe- 



20 COLLEGE REFORM. 

cile faculty. More authority should be given to 
the president, by making him the chief executive 
officer of the institution, and responsible for its 
management. The faculty of our colleges is a 
species of oligarchy. No government can be effi- 
cient without a head. The president should be 
required to present to the Board, at each annual 
meeting, a written report of the operations of the 
institution for the year, transmitting at the same 
time reports from each professor, showing the pro- 
gress of his classes, &c. The college funds should 
be controled and disbursed by the president or 
faculty, under the supervision and direction of the 
Board (the salaries of professors being prescribed 
by the Board). This practice exists in William and 
Mary College, Virginia, with signal success. 

The salaries of professors are too low. They 
should be fixed at a rate abundantly sufficient to 
give perfect competency, and they should be as 
far as possible independent of the tuition fees. 

III. COURSE OF STUDY, 

The course of study embraces too extensive a 
range for the time devoted to it, and as a conse- 



COLLEGE REFORM. 21 

quence, the student leaves the college with a super- 
ficial knowledge, nothing being thoroughly ac- 
quired ; or, he devotes himself to the particular 
branches which are most highly esteemed in the 
college, to the total neglect of those deemed less 
important. Most of our colleges give pre-emi- 
nence to the classics and metaphysics. Hence, 
college graduates are generally good classical scho- 
lars and logicians, but many graduate in mathema- 
tics and natural philosophy, who cannot solve a 
quadratic equation, or demonstrate the parallelo- 
gram of forces. And here lies the chief defect of 
our present college system. The education that is 
furnished is based upon the wants of what are 
called the learned professions, and all who enter 
college, with whatever pursuit in life in view, must 
go through the same course of studies, that is pre- 
scribed for the lawyer, the physician, or the divine. 
This is a practical age, the American people are 
emphatically a practical people, and while the pub- 
lic demand has been for the knowledge of those 
sciences by which labour may be profitably directed, 
the agriculturist, the manufacturer, the mechanic, 
and the merchant, must study Latin, Greek, and 



22 COLLEGE REFORM. 

logic, or he must not think of coveting an acade- 
mical degree* Dr. Wayland has most correctly 
and forcibly explained the cause why the colleges 
of the United States have not kept pace with the 
general progress of the country. 

" We have constructed them (colleges) upon the 
idea that they are to be schools of preparation for 
the professions. Our customers, therefore, come 
from the smallest class of society ; and the impor- 
tance of the education which we furnish is not so 
universally acknowledged as formerly, even by this 
class. We have produced an article for which the 
demand is diminishing. We sell it at less than 
cost, and the deficiency is made up by charity. 
We give it away and still the demand diminishes." 
(See Report to Corporation of Brown University.) 

Reform. — Before suggesting the reform which 
the defect just referred to requires, let us examine 
the remedies which have been tried or proposed 
for it. In some colleges a special course is taught 
to meet the wants of the numerous classes of young 
men who are not designed for the learned profes- 
sions. Those who go through the prescribed course 
receive from the faculty a certificate of proficiency, 



COLLEGE REFORM. 23 

but ihej are not considered graduates of the col- 
lege. On the contrary, the prevailing sentiment 
in college being favourable to the classical course, 
those who take the special course do not rank 
among their fellow students as high as those of the 
regular classes. No duties are assigned them at the 
annual commencements. They are rarely chosen 
by the literary societies to represent them on pub- 
lic occasions, and thus practically, the effect of 
the system is to drive young men of talent and 
ambition into the regular collegiate course, while 
the special course is for the most part taken by 
those who are too indolent or too badly prepared 
to graduate. 

Dr. Wayland, in his report before quoted, pro- 
poses to abandon the present system of adjusting 
collegiate study to a fixed term of four years, and 
to allow every student, within limits to be deter- 
mined by statute, to carry on, as he chose, a 
greater or less number of courses. 

The objection to this plan arises chiefly from the 
character and qualifications of those who enter col- 
lege. Boys get nowadays so restless at the gram- 
mar schools, that before they are half equipped for 



24 COLLEGE EEFORM. 

a college course, they are taken from school and 
sent to college. Parents too commonly give little 
thought to the course of studies which their sons 
may select. They determine this matter for them- 
selves. Are they competent to select from the 
various courses presented in a university pro- 
gramme, those which they most need ? Or, will 
they not generally select those which will re- 
quire the least effort ? Such an arrangement as 
the one proposed by Dr. Wayland, would answer 
well, and was originally designed for those who, 
having passed through the ordinary college course, 
might extend and perfect their knowledge upon 
particular branches, at an university. Such was 
the design of the University of Virginia, and it is 
an admirable one. But where no previous test of 
qualification for admission is imposed, young men 
will seek such institutions, because of the latitude 
allowed in selecting their studies, while they will 
fail to meet the particular wants which have sug- 
gested this arrangement. 

A college course to be faithfully and profitably 
prosecuted, must be presented as a whole. All 
who enter its walls should be required to go through 



COLLEGE REFO EM. 25 

the entire course, and proficiency upon this course 
should entitle the student to his degree. 

For this purpose, the reform that is suggested 
consists in dividing among several colleges, the in- 
struction which Dr. Wayland would ofi"er in one. 
Thus, we might have classical colleges, commercial 
colleges, agricultural colleges, and colleges for the 
industrial pursuits. 

The classical colleges would vary very little from 
their present organization. Commercial colleges 
might suppress Latin and Greek, and substitute 
French, Spanish, and full English studies. The 
mathematical and scientific course should also be so 
modified as to give full instruction in book-keeping, 
banking, commercial law, political economy, and 
geography. 

Agricultural colleges would also leave out Latin 
and Greek, and substitute French and German, 
with the English course. Chemistry, theoretical 
and practical, botany, geology, mineralogy, and 
physiology, animal and vegetable, should be car- 
ried as far as practicable. 

The industrial colleges would substitute for Latin 
and Greek, French and English, and extend the 

3 



26 COLLEGE EEFORM. 

course of mathematics to descriptive geometry, 
shades, shadows, and perspective, with a full 
course of civil engineering and right-line drawing, 
and give minute and extensive instruction in me- 
chanics, especially in the application of moving 
powers. 

By the above arrangement, the parent would 
determine before sending his son to college, upon 
his pursuit for life ; and when he entered college, 
he would pursue that course of study which enlight- 
ened judgment and experience would show to be 
best for the special object to be attained. It is of 
great moment to the proper discipline of the mind, 
that it be steadily fixed upon some definite object, 
and no obstacle should be interposed to cause a 
diversion of the mind from that object. Let a 
young man know when he enters the college walls, 
that he commences his profession, whether of medi- 
cine, law, agriculture, manufacture, or engineer- 
ing, and that success in life depends upon his per- 
severingly pursuing that object, and you have 
prepared him for an effort w^hich all must make 
who would reach distinction. He does not fritter 
away his time with the excuse that this or that 



COLLEGE REFORM. 27 

study will be of no use to him, as is too often the 
case by the present system, but he goes to college 
prepared to believe that all of the prescribed course 
is essential to him, and he takes it up as a wliole^ 
determined to master it as a whole. A habit of 
thoroughness is thus formed, — a most important 
element of success in every pursuit in life. 

IV. MODE OF INSTRUCTION. 

From the fact that the present college course 
embraces the whole range of science, literature, 
and the arts, only one teacher can generally be 
assigned to a single branch. As a consequence, 
the professor has a larger number of students under 
his charge than he is able to instruct properly. 
Superficial knowledge is thus substituted for the 
thoroughness which it should be the aim of every 
college to impart. The system of lectures is from 
the same cause too prevalent. A young ma;n of 
sixteen or seventeen is not going to study very 
hard, if his teacher take up the time in lecturing 
instead of examining him upon the text. He will 
lay aside his books, and rely upon the superficial 
knowledge derived from a hurried lecture. 



28 COLLEGE REFORM. 

The present system of instruction does not pro- 
vide sufficient motives for exertion, as little or no 
emulation is excited. Young men of good minds 
and studious habits learn well in college. They 
would learn well anywhere. The dull or the idle 
student is left pretty much to himself. 

Reform. — Divide the classes in each department 
of study into sections of fifteen each, each section 
to recite separately for one hour or one hour and 
a' half. A professor might in most cases hear three 
of these sections daily, and thus take charge of 
about forty-five students. Should there be more 
students in his department, he should be supplied 
with one or more assistant professors or tutors. 
Thoroughness in instruction can only be secured 
by this division of labour. The professor would 
of course interchange with his assistants, direct 
their mode of instruction, and keep a general over- 
sight of the entire class as it progresses. When 
lectures are to be delivered, the class could be 
assembled by the professor for this purpose. 

Lessons should as far as practicable be learned 

from the text-hook, and each student thoroughly 

examined each day upon the lessons of the day. 



COLLEGE REFORM. 29 

Each professor and assistant professor should give 
daily marks indicating the proficiency of the stu- 
dent upon the lesson. The grade of marking may 
be scaled as follows : for a perfect recitation, give 
3, and 0, where there is a total want of prepara- 
tion. Intermediate numbers would indicate rela- 
tive merit, as by the annexed table. 

SCALE OF MARKING KECITATIONS. 



INDIFFERENT. 



23 OI Oi. 



2 II U U 



At the end of each week the instructor should 
make out a class report, giving the result of the 
week's recitation, and present it to the president, 
that the totals may be transferred to the merit- 
hooh. 

Table A shows the form of the weekly class 
report, and Table B, the mode in which the merit- 
book is kept. When a student is absent, his mark 
for the day should be averaged. 

The merit-hook, B, should be accessible to the 
students, and a transcript from it should be com- 
municated periodically to parents. 

3* 



30 COLLEGE EEFORM. 

The above arrangements are preparatory to the 
regular grading of the classes in the order of merit. 
Until colleges are brought to adopt this system in 
full, they will never he what they ought to he. Some 
object to it on account of the emulation which it 
excites. Emulation is necessary in every pursuit 
of life, and is nowhere so essential as in a college. 
The Apostle Paul did not consider it wrong to 
'^provoke to emulation" his brethren, according to 
the flesh ; and Dr. Macknight, in his note on the 
subject, draws a correct distinction between emu- 
lation and envy. " Emulation is a desire to equal 
others in the advantages which they possess, and 
is gratified by advancing ourselves in an honour- 
able manner to an equality with them ; whereas 
envy is a grief accompanied with hatred, occasioned 
by the good things which another possesses, and 
which we think he does not deserve as well as we 
do ; and is gratified by degrading others." (Notes 
on 11th chap. Epistle to Romans.) 

The class-marks being thus used "to provoke to 
emulation," we will explain the method of apply- 
ing them. 

At the end of the term the sum of the weekly 



COLLEGE REFORM. 31 

totals in merit-book B is taken. This will indicate 
the comparative merit of the members of the class 
as exhibited by the daily recitations. This result 
is combined with the marks given at the examina- 
tion, greater dignity being of course attached to 
the examination-marks. 

The examination being an important element in 
the standing, should be as thorough as possible, 
and viva voce, all the members of the board of 
trustees being present at the one which fixes the 
merit for the year. There is much to recommend 
the viva voce system of examination. It gives in- 
terest to the occasion, imparts confidence to the 
student, and stimulates to exertion. No one with 
proper pride would like to stand up before a board 
of intelligent gentlemen, and fail to answer the 
questions proposed to him. Such an examination 
gives the board of trustees an opportunity to judge 
not only of the progress of the class, but of the 
competency and fidelity of the professor. An in- 
dolent or incompetent professor might very readily 
write out from the labours of others a list of exa- 
mination questions, but might not be able to con- 
duct properly a viva voce examination. Nor need 



32 COLLEGE EEFORM. 

it occupy too long a time. The annual meeting of 
the board might very well employ seven or eight 
days. In this time the classes in a college of one 
hundred and twenty students could be fairly and 
fully examined by the mode suggested. If more 
time be required, divide the board into committees 
of three or four each, and carry on separate exa- 
minations at the same time. To enable the board 
to judge more fully of the merit of the students, 
and of the system of instruction, one or more com- 
petent persons should be invited by the board an- 
nually to be associated with the faculty as exami- 
ners. The board will now be able to form a very 
fair estimate of the relative merit of a class b}' 
combining the weekly class-marks with the exami- 
nation-marks and the opinion of the instructor. It 
is essential to embrace in the result, the instructor's 
opinion, since, for reasons that will be manifest to 
every teacher, the weekly marks will not always be 
a correct criterion of the actual merits of all the 
members of a class. Some students absent them- 
selves from the class-rooms when they have diffi- 
cult lessons, and thus escape marks which would 



COLLEGE REFORM. 33 

place them below others, above whom by this arti- 
fice they happen to be marked. 

To form now the general merit of a class in all 
the studies of the class, it is necessary to grade 
each subject according to its relative importance. 
Thus, the general merit of a class which had 
been studying mathematics, chemistry, and French, 
might be arranged by giving to these subjects the 
relative value, say of 300, 200, and 100. These 
numbers would then correspond with the maximum 
mark which any student could receive in these sub- 
jects. Assuming j- the maximum mark as the 
minimum mark, those who were last in the class in 
these subjects would receive 100, QQ-Q, and 33*3 
respectively. The other members of the class 
would receive numbers which would form an arith- 
metical series, of which the assumed maximum and 
minimum would be the extremes. 

These rules result of course from arbitrary ar- 
rangement, and may be modified to suit circum- 
stances. Those students who are not sustained at 
an examination, receive a lower mark than the 
minimum, and are pronounced deficient. This de- 
ficiency should operate in one of two ways. The 



34 COLLEGE REFORM. 

student should either be turned back to recommence 
the studies of the session, or he should be required 
to withdraw from the college. If the deficiency 
result from gross neglect of studies, or manifest 
incapacity, he should withdraw. A grossly idle 
student is a bad example, and should not be allowed 
to remain in college. AYhere want of capacity 
exists to such a degree as to cause no progress to 
be made in the studies, it is but justice to the 
parent and to the youth, that money and time be 
not wasted upon him. If the deficiency result from 
want of previous preparation or extreme youth, the 
student might be turned back to recommence his 
studies. Proficiency being regulated by the know- 
ledge necessary to prosecute the studies of the 
higher classes, it is useless to advance a student 
unless he has this knowledge. The standard for 
graduation must of course be regulated by the 
authorities of the college, and will correspond with 
the objects to be attained by the particular course 
studied. It is well to fix a minimum scale for pro- 
ficiency in the class. Thus, 15 being the maximum 
for the week, a lower mark than 12, for example, 
should be regarded as a deficient mark. This 



COLLEGE REFORM. 35 

directs the attention of the student to his weekly 
marks, and enables him to judge of his own pro- 
gress. Should the weekly marks for the session 
place a student below "proficiency^ he should be pro- 
nounced deficient, unless his examination clearly 
shows the reverse. 

V. DISCIPLINE. 

Before we can determine the nature of the dis- 
cipline required for our colleges, we must ascertain 
what responsibility a college assumes in the moral 
government of the student. 

Young men are commonly lodged in the college 
buildings, are required to be in their rooms during 
the study hours of the day, when not engaged in 
the class-rooms, to be present at night; and to 
enforce these rules, the officers of the college at 
regular intervals visit their rooms. The college, 
therefore, assumes the responsibility of guarding, 
by these regulations, the morals of the student. 
Is it right that it should ? We answer unhesi- 
tatingly it is. Young men leave home to enter 
college usually before they reach majority. We 
have no means of ascertaining with accuracy the 



36 COLLEGE REFORM. 

average age of entrance into college, except in the 
experience of tlie institution to which the writer 
belongs. It may be assumed, however, at eighteen 
years. Is a young man at this age capable of 
taking care of himself? If so, why does the law 
of the land trammel his liberty until he is twenty- 
one ? This interesting period of his life is the 
very one, w^hich, from its peculiar temptations, it 
should be the office of a college to protect by all 
the moral appliances which could be brought to 
bear upon it. A young man leaves his home, he 
has been accustomed to all the restraints which pa- 
rental anxiety and affection deem essential to his 
welfare. He enters college, and is at once throw^n 
amid a thousand temptations, which he had not 
known before, or if known, had been protected 
from, by parental vigilance and counsel. Must he 
meet these temptations alone ? Or shall not the 
authority of the college be thrown around him to 
shelter him from the dangers which have, alas ! 
but too often shipwrecked the hopes of many a pro- 
mising youth ? The young man needs this autho- 
rity, the parent desires it, nay, demands it, and 
that college which fails to exercise it, is not meet- 



COLLEGE REFORM. 37 

ing the ends for which it was founded. Let me 
not be misunderstood. The parent knows too well 
the nature of the difficulty in governing the young 
to expect a college to give security against all the 
evil effects of college life. His own care has often 
proved ineffectual in the midst of less dangers at 
home. But he does expect his son to be under the 
influence of the wholesome restraints of college dis- 
cipline, and that the authorities of the college will 
stand towards him in loco parentis. Is it right, 
then, to allow him to lodge in the families of the 
neighbouring village? To sit up until midnight 
over the card-table or the wine-bottle ? To wan- 
der about the streets at all hours of the night? 
Are the rules of a private family to prevent these 
practices ? The college is then to transfer to the 
private citizen the discipline of the student. But 
how is this discipline to be exercised ? In one of 
two ways, — either by turning the student out of the 
family, or reporting him to the president of the 
college for discipline. In either case it will be an 
unpleasant duty, and if the family be dependent 
upon the patronage of the students, as is most 
generally the case, it will never be exercised with- 

4 



38 COLLEGE REFORM. 

out a sacrifice greater tlian can be expected. We 
know what the caprices of young men are. Let a 
boarding-house keeper exercise restraint on the 
points referred to, and his "occupation's gone." 
With these views of the responsibility of a college, 
we come now to inquire into the defects of the 
present system of discipline. 

The control is only partial. Young men of 
notoriously bad habits may be dismissed, but the 
discipline does not effectively reach offences of a 
minor grade. The incentives to virtue are not 
sufficiently urgent, nor the restraints to vice suffi- 
ciently strong. 

Reform. — What then shall be the nature of the 
college discipline ? And how far shall this disci- 
pline extend ? These are important questions, 
and have given rise to various theories, according 
to the different views of those who have written 
upon the subject. Some have maintained that the 
rules of a college should be few in number and 
simple in their character, and these rigidly en- 
forced, as involving offences of a graver nature. 
Others have objected to formal rules altogether, 
and have argued that colleges should be governed 



COLLEGE REFORM. 39 

by the "code of honour," or by means purely 
moral. Now, young men have evil passions, which 
it should be the object of discipline to restrain ; 
they have careless, idle, and procrastinating habits, 
which discipline should correct ; and they have 
noble qualities, which discipline should properly 
cultivate and direct. Much may be accomplished 
by "moral" means. The pride and honour of a 
youth may often be appealed to with effect. But 
more is wanting. A system of discipline is re- 
quired, which, without neglecting these, shall meet 
the numberless cases of irregularity which do not 
in themselves involve a departure from moral prin- 
ciple, but the control of which is important to the 
well-being and progress of the student. Small 
offences should be noticed and checked, lest they 
grow into larger ones ; and promptness, punctuality, 
and system, in the discharge of all duties, should 
be cultivated as habits^ the importance of which 
will be felt in the active business of life. This 
discipline should admit of being carried into effect, 
without exciting the angry passions of teachers or 
pupils ; for unless there exist a mutual respect and 



40 COLLEGE REFORM. 

regard between the teacher and the pupil, no satis- 
factory results can be attained by either. 

If these views of the nature of college discipline 
be correct, it will be seen that the objection to an 
uniform system of discipline for the old and young 
does not so fully exist, as might, at first view, be 
supposed. Young men of twenty-five may be more 
sedate in their habits, and less liable to the influ- 
ences of bad example in others ; but besides setting 
sometimes bad examples themselves, they not unfre- 
quently have careless and idle habits, which should 
be corrected, and they often need the stimulants of 
college discipline as much as the young. No man 
who enters college is ever too old to learn habits of 
order and system, which a wholesome discipline 
may impart ; and the fact that he enters college 
late in life, may be the very reason, that being 
deprived of this training in his earlier days, he 
needs it the more now. Were the students of our 
theological seminaries placed under the discipline 
which will be now explained, its efiect would soon 
be perceptible in a more acjtive, energetic, and sys- 
tematic ministry. 

It is recommended, therefore, — 



COLLEGE KEFORM. 41 

1. To define particularly every duty^ and to 
punish hy demerit-marks, corresponding with the 
criminality of each offence, every violation of the 
rules, or neglect of the duties of the college. 

The following outline will show how these rules 
may be defined, and what penalties might attach to 
each offence. 



OFFENCES. 


DEMERIT. 


Profane language, 


10 


Irreverence in religious exercises, 


5 to 10 


Disorderly conduct, 


5 to 8 


Absent from class duty. 


3 


Want of preparation in lessons, 


3 


Late at class-call, 


1 


Talking in lecture-room. 


2 to 5 


Abuse of college property, 


5 to 10 


Neglect of police in room, 


3 


Neglect of personal neatness, 


3 to 5 


Visiting during study hours. 


5 


Absent from college, 


5 


Absent at night. 


8 


Using tobacco, 


5 


Spitting tobacco juice on lecture-room 


floors, 5 


Noise in college. 


5 to 10 


Not rising at prescribed time, 


3 


Not retiring at prescribed time, 


3 


&c. &c. 





These rules and the corresponding demerit may 

4* 



42 COLLEaE REFORM. 

be varied to suit the circumstances of the institu- 
tion. 

Reports for violation of any college law should 
be made in writing to the president of the college, 
who should cause them to be transcribed and read 
out to the students every Friday afternoon. On 
the following morning those students who have 
excuses for their reports, should present them in 
writing according to a prescribed form (see Form) 
to the president. The president should then care- 
fully examine each excuse, and cause the reports 
not removed to be recorded, with the penalty at- 
tached, in the demerit-hook. No verbal communi- 
cation should take place between any officer and 
student, in reference to any report for a delin- 
quency, except by way of explanation, with the 
consent of the president, and then the explanation 
should always be asked and given in the most 
courteous terms. Written excuses are required to 
avoid disputation. The demerit-book should be 
open to the inspection and examination of parents 
and students. Table D shows the form of the 
demerit-book. 

2. When the total amount of demerit of any stu- 



COLLEGE REFORM. 43 

dent exceeds 100 in a session of five months, he 
should he immediately/ dismissed from the college. 

This rule does not make it necessary to retain a 
vicious student until he gets 100 demerit. No 
young man of bad habits, or who has been detected 
in a wilful act of moral delinquency, should be 
allowed to remain in college. The position cannot 
with safety be held, that the promise and hope of 
amendment are sufficient grounds for withholding 
extreme discipline. The question involved does not 
affect the individual delinquent alone. Example 
is an all-powerful principle with the young ; and 
when the continuance of a bad student in a college 
may be the means of communicating vicious princi- 
ples or habits to others, those who allow it are 
working an injury which cannot be compensated 
for by the probable benefits anticipated. One of 
the most distinguished teachers* of the present 
day has well remarked, " Till a man learns that the 
first, second, and third duty of a schoolmaster is to 
get rid of unpromising subjects, a great public school 
will never he what it might be, and what it ought 

* Dr. Arnold, of Rugby School, England, 



44 COLLEGE REFORM. 

to he.'' The remark is equally applicable to col- 
leges. 

It is also true, in general, that when a student 
with a perfect knowledge of the effects of his de- 
merit is so irregular or disorderly, as to exceed 100 
demerit in a term, he possesses habits which will 
make his continuance in the college not only inju- 
rious to others, but unprofitable to himself. When 
the president observes the demerit of a young man 
fearfully increasing, his duty is to talk with him 
privately, admonish him of the consequences. If 
this will not check him, let him bring into exercise 
the co-operation of the parent; and if all these 
influences fail, he has what Dr. Arnold would call 
an "unpromising subject," and "his first, second, 
and third duty is to get rid of him at once." 

3. The conduct of each student sJiould be com- 
bined with his scholarship, in forming the general 
merit. 

The system of demerit here proposed, will lose 
most of its efficacy, unless the class-standing of the 
student be influenced by his conduct. Experience 
has shown that this consideration will operate upon 
young men, who, without it, would only aim to 



COLLEGE REFORM. 45 

avoid exceeding the limit of deficiency in conduct. 
Many an instance has come under the writer's own 
observation, in which the delinquent would plead 
with an earnestness which would show his willing- 
ness to submit to any penalty as a substitute for 
the demerit which would lower him a file in his 
class. And this combination of conduct with scho- 
larship is the correct mode of determining the 
general merit of a student. What is it which 
secures distinction in after life ? It is not intellect 
alone, but the union of this with industrious, me- 
thodical, and virtuous habits. Indeed, how often 
do we see success attend an inferiority of natural 
powers, where they have been honestly and zealously 
cultivated ! To combine the conduct with scholar- 
ship, we must fix a numerical standard by which to 
estimate-conduct. Give to it then an importance 
equal to 300. The student who has no demerit 
against him at the end of the term, will receive 
300 as his conduct-mark. Let every demerit a 
student has, remove J from 300. A person having 
20 demerit, would then have as his conduct-mark 
295, that is, 300 less \°. One having 50 demerit, 
would receive 287 '5, and so on. The number of 



46 COLLEGE REFORM. 

demerit for one year being limited to 200, the 
minimum conduct-mark would be 250, and all 
below this would be pronounced deficient in conduct. 

It is easy now to see the effect of demerit upon 
the general merit of a class. To make this more 
apparent still, Table E exhibits the arrangements 
of a class by scholarship alone, while Table F shows 
the result when conduct is combined with scholar- 
ship. 

The system of discipline which has just been ex- 
plained, is borrowed from that which generally 
exists in military institutions, but which is not ne- 
cessarily limited in its applications. It possesses 
decided advantages over those which commonly 
prevail, not only in its restraining influences over 
the vicious tendencies of the young, but in direct- 
ing the energies of the mind more fully and more 
universally to the attainment of knowledge. While 
other systems operate very well for the virtuous 
and industrious, and in fact control by the force of 
extreme punishment, those who are grossly negli- 
gent and vicious ; this supplies an important defect, 
by taking cognizance of a numerous class of of- 
fences which are not ordinarily noticed, so long as 



COLLEGE REFORM. 47 

the student conducts himself with moderate pro- 
priety and attention. 

To secure this* important object, the college regu- 
lations must be very minute. Besides prescribing 
specific punishments for the more heinous moral 
offences, they must define with precision a routine 
of minor duties, and interdict a number of minor 
offences. To enforce these rules, the military prin- 
ciple of responsibtUtT/ must be introduced into the 
college. This can be done without difiiculty. The 
occupants of a room being required to attend to its 
police, one should be made responsible for its 
police and order, each, room-mate assuming this 
07'derly duty '' in turn,'' say for one week. The 
college building should then be arranged by divi- 
sions, each division being placed in charge of a 
professor, whose duty it should be to visit the rooms 
at stated times, and report every student guilty 
of any violation of college regulations. Classes 
should be assembled on the college lawn by squad- 
marches, and from thence marched in order to the 
lecture-room. By these and similar arrangements 
any institution of learning might profitably adopt 



48 COLLEGE REFORM. 

the essential features of the military schools, with- 
out assuming in any sense a military character. 

These minute rules will give some labour, and 
will require no little attention on the part of the 
officers of the college, but the benefits will fully 
compensate for all the care and labour ; for, besides 
the immediate advantages resulting from the system 
in the discipline of the college, there are moral 
questions involved, which ought not to be disre- 
garded in training the young. 

Those who are trained to discharge minor duties 
faithfully and punctually, find it easier to under- 
take and master weightier ones. Men become 
eminent in knowledge by taking heed to little 
things. The ladder of fame is only ascended step 
hy step. On the other hand, those who know that 
small offences cannot be committed with impunity, 
will regard those of a more aggravated character 
with more seriousness. When a man allows him- 
self in little things, they soon accumulate into 
great. He allows himself in little things, and thus 
forms a strong habit. Because it is little, he counts 
it of no moment, forgetting that men do not become 
infamous at once. The drunkard, the swindler, 



COLLEGE REFORM. 49 

the outlaw, liave only reached their depth of folly 
and of crime by degrees. This discipline, there- 
fore, which teaches a youth to have respect to little 
tJmigs, and j&xes this principle as a habit, by incul- 
cating that no duty is too trifling to be neglected, 
and no offence too light to be overlooked, will do 
more to qualify him for the active duties of life 
than anything else. Ifethod, 'proinptness, and 
fidelity^ are the great leading qualities which con- 
stitute the business man. The discipline which 
induces them must be good. 

There is great difficulty in little things. Men 
who can set themselves right earnestly to work to 
accomplish great matters, are often at fault in those 
which are trivial, and yet all business men will say 
that it is by taking heed to these little things that 
security can be had, that the weightier ones will 
not be neglected; and he who has obtained the 
mastery over himself to meet and discharge the 
smallest duty, has done much to qualify himself 
for the greatest. If, in the consideration of the 
duties of this life, we include that higher sphere of 
duty and of action which embraces the life to come, 
how forcibly does this principle of taking heed to 

5 



50 COLLEGE REFORM. 

little things apply ! Go to the minister in holy 
things, and he will say that men become eminent 
in piety by forsaking little sins, by taking heed to 
little things. It is this overlooking little things 
which constitutes the stumbling-block to many 
who have their faces Zionward. Too many cling 
to some Zoar, and ask, ^^ Is it not a little oner' 
while others seek the Abanaand Pharpar, to the 
neglect of the simple teachings of Divine truth. 

The propriety of establishing a "commons" for 
the students must depend upon the circumstances 
of the college. Where the means will justify the 
outlay for a mess hall, economy and order may be 
promoted by such an arrangement. In this case^, 
the system of responsibility before referred to, must 
be introduced, by dividing the tables into separate 
sections, each in charge of a carver, who should be 
made accountable for the order of his section. 
Whether this suggestion be carried out or not, it is 
ea7'nestly insisted upon that all colleges provide, at 
whatever cost, a convenient and well-arranged hos- 
pital for the sick. It is surprising that this indis- 
pensable comfort is overlooked in the arrangements 
of a college outfit. Fine library rooms, museums 



COLLEGE REFORM. 51 

and society halls, — these are provided, at great 
expense, but the sick student is thrown upon the 
kindness of his boarding-house keeper, or of his 
room-mates in a college dormitory, when his case 
requires a quiet room and skilful nursing. 



III. 

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 

It would transcend the limits contemplated in 
this brief outline, to enter upon a full development 
of the duty of colleges in the moral and religious 
training of youth. Nor is it necessary to do so. 
This subject has been so well discussed by those 
who are in every way competent for the task, that 
all necessary information may be obtained by a 
reference to the various existing works on religious 
education. Suffice it to say, that the object of all 
education, if limited to this life only, is to make 
men happy in themselves, and useful to others ; and 
it may be assumed as an indisputable truth, that 
we shall most certainly secure these ends by lay- 



52 COLLEGE REFORM. 

ing deep in the youthful mind the principles and 
precepts of the Christian religion. But the great 
end of education is a preparation for another state 
of existence, and here the teacher's voice should 
give no '^ uncertain sound." Parents want Chris- 
tian teachers, that they may he sure their sons 
receive a pure morality. They want Christian 
teachers, because they know that " the fear of the 
Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 

Who can read the closing paragraph of the will 
of Patrick Henry, without acknowledging the truth 
of the eloquent sentiment it expresses, and without 
respect for the high authority from which it comes ? 
" I have now disposed of my property to my 
family ; there is one thing more I wish I could give 
them, and that is the Christian religion. If 
they had this, and I had not given them one shil- 
ling, they would be rich ; and if they had not that, 
and I had given them all the world, they would be 
poor." 

If the above views be correct, the propriety of 
systematic instruction from the Bible on the Sabbath 
will be manifest. With this should be associated 



COLLEGE REFORM. 53 

the study of natural theology, and the evidences of 
the Christian religion. 



lY. 



MILITARY INSTITUTIONS. 

The success which has attended the establishment 
of the Virginia Military Institute, has prompted 
other institutions to attempt a similar organization. 
A word of caution is necessary on this point. 

The circumstances which led to the complete 
military character of the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute were peculiar. Here there is a depot of arms 
belonging to the state, which had been formerly 
guarded by a company of enlisted soldiers, at an 
annual charge to the state of some $6000. By 
imposing upon a corps of cadets the duties of the 
guard, the legislature organized a state military 
institution upon the basis of the U. S. Military Aca- 
demy, at West Point. By this arrangement the 
institution became in the fullest sense a part of the 

military of the state, the officers and cadets being 

5* 



54 COLLEGE KEFORM. 

under the command of the governor. This control 
on the part of the state gives an authority over the 
Institute which is essential to its maintaining a full 
military organization. Without this control all 
attempts to follow such a system must prove abor- 
tive. There is much to attract young men in the 
military dress, and the " pomp and circumstance" 
of the parades, at first ; but these soon become 
wearisome, and unless those who enter such insti- 
tutions are held under the restraining authority of 
the state, they will fluctuate with the tastes and 
whims of young men. 

Add to this, the ''appareil" of a military school 
is very expensive. Tents, military equipments, &c., 
must be provided and kept up, and these involve a 
large expenditure of money. Hence it is advised 
that no institution be attempted upon this model, 
except by state authority. Private enterprises will 
not succeed. 

All that is desirable in military schools, except 
the specific object aimed at by a state in the disci- 
pline of its militia, may be secured by an organiza- 
tion similar to that which has been sketched out 
in the foregoing pages. It is an error to suppose 



COLLEGE REFORM. 55 

that the efficacy of the government in military 
institutions, results from the force of the bayonet. 
Quite the reverse. It is the system of responsi- 
hility, and the publicity given to the class merit and 
demerit (all of which may with equal propriety 
and success be introduced into any institution), 
which constitute the moral power of such schools. 

When a state establishes a military school, it is 
advised that the military feature be made eomjylete. 
To have an institution partly military and partly 
civil, or to suppose that you can have a military 
college with a professor of tactics and a company 
of cadets, is to attempt what must fail. Taking 
the organization of the United States Military 
Academy as the basis, carry out the system so well 
arranged in this admirable institution, and you will 
form a military state college which ought to suc- 
ceed and will succeed, if the state will properly 
maintain it. 



56 



COLLEaE REFORM, 









TABLE A 










r<r\T r T7</-«Tn 


■Wp^UU, r"1« T>^r^ 4- \ /T\^^^^i^ * „f 


w 


OK^l^LJ \^ LVti^iD XV^^^Vyj 


> Class. < 
. ) (Sec 




I \ji. . 






i 


Names. 


M. 


T. 


W. 


T. 


F. 


Total. 


Remarks. 


1 


W. Y. C. 


3 


2i 


2i 


3 


3 


13* 




2 


J. A. M. 


2 


a 


2i 


3 


3 


13i 




3 


T. H. 


3 


2 


3 


21 




13* 




4 


W. H. B. 


2h 


3 


2f 


11 


3 


13 




5 


J. T. B. W. 


2i 


3 


3 


3 


2^ 


14 




6 


J. C.P. 


3 


a 


a 


2 


3 


13 




7 


P. C. B. 


2^ 


3 


2h 


3 


2\ 


13i 




8 


G. G. G. 


3 


2h 


3 


2 


3 


13i 




9 


A. J. V. 


2 


3 


a 


21 


3 


13 




10 


W. A. E. 


3 


a 


2 


3 


3 


131 




n 


B. F. E. 


3 


2 


3 


2\ 


2 


12i 




12 


R. S. B. 


3 


2i 


3 


2\ 


2i 


12* 




13 


E. P.T. 


2 


3 


2h 


3 


2 


\2k 




14 


C. C. 


2 


3 


2k 


3 


3 


13^ 




15 


A. D. C. 


2 


2h 


2\ 


21 


2i 


11* 




To , 




Presider 


It of 




(^ 11 




— college. 

A. B. 
















Pr< 


jfessor» 



COLLEGE REFORM. 



57 



TABLE B. 

ABSTRACT FROM WEEKLY CLASS REPORT, 185L 
Department of . Class- . Section . 



i 




00 










6 


Names. 


>1 

1-s 


>1 

1-9 


;-< 

pi 

1-5 


>> 

P 
►-5 


Grand total 
for month. 


1 


J. CM. 


15 


15 


15 


15 


60 


2 


J. E. B. 


15 


15 


15 


15 


60 


3 


J. C. M. 


Hi 


15 


Hi 


15 


59i 


4 


G. S. P. 


14i 


15 


15 


14i 


58^ 


5 


W. 0. Y. 


15 


15 


15 


14* 


591 


6 


J. G. 


15 


15 


14i 


15 


59^ 


7 


T. T. 


14 


14^ 


141 


14 


57i 


8 


J. M. 


Uk 


14i 


14 


lU 


57i 


9 


T. T. M. 


14 


14^ 


lU 


Uk 


57i 


10 


N. H. 


13f 


14 


15 


14 


56f 


11 


M. P. C. 


13i 


14i 


lU 


14 


56k 


12 


G. C. W. 


13 


14 


lU 


14 


551- 


13 


C. T. M. 


13i 


14 


13 


131 


54 


14 


C.L.R. 


14 


lU 


15 


14 


57i 


15 


M. M. 


15 


13i 


141 


14i 


57^ 



58 COLLEGE REFORM. 

TABLE C. 

FORMS OF EXCUSES. 

A. B. Room out of order on the 10th April, 1851. 

Excuse. I forgot to police it. 

Respectfully submitted. 

A. B. 
To C. D., President of College. 

The excuse is not good. Forgetfulness might cause serious bad 
consequences. 

C. D. 
President. 

A. B. Noise in College on the 15th April, 1851. 

Excuse. There must be some error in the report, as I was 
not in College on the day mentioned, having permission from 
the President to be absent. 

Respectfully submitted. 

A. B. 

The report is removed. 

CD. 

President. 



COLLEGE REFORM. 



59 



TABLE D. 

DEMERIT BOOK. 
A. B. 



1851. 


Delinquency. 


Demerit. 


January 3. 


Absent from mathematics, 


3 


10. 


Room out of order, 


3 


11. 


Using tobacco, 


5 


15. 


Visiting in study hours. 


5 


February 3. 


Noise in quarters, 


5 


" 17. 


Neglect of person. 


3 


29. 


Abuse of public buildings. 


8 


March 3. 


Profanity, 


8 


7. 


Absent from College without 






permission. 


5 




Total demerit for quarter. 


45 



60 



COLLEGE REFORM. 



TABLE E. 



'u 

a 

u 


Names. 


Merit in 


"o 
H 


Remarks. 


1 
B 

■A 


-£3 

CO 

s 

o 


>> 

-a 

bo 
§ 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 


W. G. B. 
G. H. P. 
G. W. T. 
R. H. P. 
F. V. 
H. C. 
R. E. R. 
J. H. J. 
R. H. C. 
T. R. T. 


300 
256 
233 
278 
211 
189 
144 
167 
122 
100 


189 

178- 

200 

100 

167 

111 

156 

122 

144 

133 


100 
91 
62 

84 
69 
76 
48 
55 
33 
40 


589 
525 
495 
462 
447 
376 
348 
344 
299 
273 





^ <&"* 

s-^." 






COLLEGE REFORM. 



61 



TABLE F. 



a 

g 

d3 


Names. 


Merit in 


o 




Remarks. 


en 
« 

a 

,q 
1 


u 

"bq 

a 

o 


>> 

C3 
!-i 

8 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


G. W. T. 
G. H. P. 
W. G. B. 
F. V. 
R. H. P. 
H. C. 
J. H. J. 
T. R. T. 
R. E. R. 
R. H. C. 


233 
256 
300 
211 
278 
189 
167 
100 
144 
122 


200 
178 
189 
167 
100 
111 
122 
133 
156 
144 


62 
91 
100 
69 
84 
76 
55 
40 
48 
33 


300 
269 
202 
294 
265 
274 
300 
300 
210 
225 


795 
794 
791 
741 
727 
650 
644 
573 
558 
524 





MATHEMATICAL WORKS. 
VZRGIITIA XHIZiITARV IM-STIT nTS 

MATHEMATICAL SERIES, 

BY COL. FRANCIS H. SMITH, 

SUPERINTENDENT OF THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 

INTRODUCTION TO SMITH AND DUKE'S 
ARITHMETIC. 

BY FRANCIS H. SMITH, A.M. 



AMERICAN STATISTICAL ARITHMETIC. 

DESIGNED FOR ACADEIVHES AND SCHOOLS. 

BY FRANCIS H.SMITH, A.M. 

Superintendent and Professor of Mathematics in the Virginia Military Institute ; late 

Professor of Mathematics in Hampden Sydney College, and formerly Assistant 

Professor in the United States Military Academy, West Point ; 

And R. T. W. DUKE, 

Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the Tirginia 3Iilitary Institute. 
THIRD EDITION. 



KEY TO SMITH AND DUKE'S AMERICAN 
STATISTICAL ARITHMETIC. 

PREPARED BY WILLIAM FORBES, 

Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the Tirginia Military Institute. 



SMITH'S ALGEBRA. 

AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ALGEBRA, 

PREPARED POR THE USE OF THE CADETS OF THE TIRGINIA MILITARY 
INSTITUTE, AND ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF MATHE- 
MATICAL INSTRUCTION IN THE SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES, 

AND COLLEGES OF THE UNITED STATES. • 

BY FRANCIS H. SMITH, A.M. 

This work is designed to present as complete an Elementary course of 
Algebra, as the time devoted to the study of Mathematics in the Colleges 
of our country will allow ; while it will be equally within the comprehen- 
sion of the pupil of the High School or Academy. 

(93) 



MATHEMATICAL WORKS. 

From J. H. Brown, A.M., Principal of Zane Street School, Philadelphia. 
It was with much pleasure that I examined the American Statistical 
Arithmetic, by Smith and Duke, and an Introduction to the same, by 
Francis H. Smith, A.M., both published by you. They are works of more 
than ordinary merit. With clear and definite Rules, they convey a large 
amount of valuable information not usually within the reach of students 
of Arithmetic. Their general introduction will aid the cause of sound 
mstruction in the Schools and Academies of our country. 



Extract of a Letter q/" Professor Powers, late of Virginia University. 

I consider it decidedly the best Arithmetic I have seen, not only as 
regards the valuable statistical information it contains, but also in its 
arrangement, and the very clear and simple explanations of the rules 
which it gives. 



NOTICES OF SMITH'S ALGEBRA. 



Fro7n Prof. P. Powers, Late Professor of University of Virginia. 

I have been using your Algebra for nearly twelve months, and can truly 
say it answers my purpose better than any other I am acquainted with. It 
presents the leading principles of the science in a concise and simple form, 
and especially those higher principles which give beginners most trouble, 
so that I have never had my classes master them before with so little 
difficulty. 

From Prof. W. N. Pendleton. 
The work which you have translated, I have, ever since becoming fami- 
liar with it, regarded as a masterpiece in that department of mathematical 
science — indeed, my feelings respecting it have always partaken much of 
the enthusiastic. It bears the evident stamp of genius, and embodies more 
of the beauties of ingenuity, simplicity, and generalization, than any other 
work of that class of subjects with which my mathematical studies have 
made me acquainted. 

From the Virginian, Winchester, Va. 

A new Algebra, by Col. Francis A. Smith, the highly efficient and 
esteemed Superintendent of our Military Institute at Lexington, will 
reiiu^e no eulogy of ours, in view of the rapid and entire success of the 
author's previous work, the Statistical Arhhmetic, This work has all the 
prestige a city publisher can give it, and Virginians have thus all they 
demand before giving their encouragement to home productions. No Vir- 
ginia schoolboy will lose much by being minus Bonnycastle and plus 
Smith. 

(95] 



MATHEMATICAL WORKS. 

In preparing this work, the author has adopted those explanations and 
demonstrations which an experience of many years in teaching, and a care- 
ful comparison of standard authors, have shown to be best. Without 
following the system of any other writer, he has derived important aid 
from the works of Gamier, Bezout, JReynaud, Bourdon, Lacroix, Francoeur, 
Euler, Hutton, Thomson, Goodwyn, Scott, and the Encyclopedia Metropo-' 
lita7ia. Many of his examples have been selected from the valuable edi- 
tion of Button's Mathematics, by Professor Rutherford, of the Roya 
Military Academy, Woolwich. 

This work covers the full course of Davies' Bourdon, and contains a ne\v 
and beautiful demonstration of the Binomial Theorem in the case of an 
Exponent, by Professor Pike Powers, late of the University of Virginia. 



SMITH'S BIOT. 

AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY. TRANSLATED 

FROM THE FRENCH OF J. B. BIOT, 

BY FRANCIS H. S Nl I T H , A . M. 

REVISED EMTION. 

This work of M. Biot has more to recommend it than the mere style of 
composition, unexceptionable as that is. The mode in which he has pre- 
sented the subject is so peculiar and felicitous, as to have drawn from the 
Princeton Review the high eulogium upon his work, of being " the most 
perfect scientific gem to be found in any language." Biot's An,alytical 
Geometry is the basis upon which other works published in this country 
have been prepared. 

NOTICES OF THE SERIES. 



From the Board of Directors of the Literary Fund, Va. 
The Board of Directors of the Literary Fund having examined Smith 
and Duke's American Statistical Arithmetic, composed by Francis H. 
Smith, Esq., Superintendent and Professor of Mathematics in the Virginia 
Military Institute, take pleasure in recommending the work, e.^pecially 
for the purpose for which it is designed, "to prepare beginners for the 
study of the more advanced parts of the science." The plan of inculcating 
valuable statistical information in the illustration of arithmetical rul^s, is 
not only novel and attractive, but useful, and is doubtless calculated to 
make a strong impression on the minds of youth. 
A true extract from the minutes. 

Signed, J. BROWN, Jr., Seamd Auditor. 

Office of the Literary Fund Board, Va. 



